Managing ornamental grasses

Last week, as I walked through my neighborhood, I snapped a couple photos of a front garden up the street.  The garden, installed last summer, has a simple palette, dominated by Nassella tenuissima (aka Mexican feather grass, fromerly classified as Stipa tenuissima), Senecio serpens (aka blue chalksticks), and white-flowered Lantana with Agaves tucked in here and there.

It's hard to make out many of the Agaves as they're hidden by the masses of feather grass

 

That garden was installed by a professional landscaping firm.  I saw some follow-up activity immediately after the installation but I haven't seen any maintenance activity since.  I wondered what kind of guidance the firm may have provided the homeowners, especially related to controlling the spread of the feather grass, which is known to be invasive in California.

I have the same feather grass in my back garden in several spots.  I love the way it dances in the wind, especially when it's in flower.  I didn't have any significant problems with it the first couple of years but more recently I've learned just how readily it self-seeds.  I've pulled some of it out and I actively monitor and manage the rest.

These are before and after shots of a section of feather grass in my backyard border.  I rake through each clump of grass by hand, pulling out the flowers, as well as any dead material.  It takes hours and, by the time I've finished all of them, it's usually time to take another pass.

Ridding the garden of tiny seedlings is an endless task, made more tedious and time-consuming when they root in between paving stones and amidst groundcovers.  This is a before and after shot of one small area.

 

I've been in spring cleanup mode for the past couple of weeks.  I've cut back all the bloomed-out Aeoniums - well, almost all.  I keep finding more.  I'm pulling gobs of weeds and deadheading spent flowers, as well as cutting back shrubs that may run counter to new regulations for managing fire risk.  (All properties in my high fire risk area are subject to evaluation by the local fire department beginning this month.)  Rain is a double-edged sword, something that's been easy to forget in recent years.  While admiring one of my backyard beds this morning, I realized how dramatically many of the trees I had pruned by professionals in mid-December had fleshed out.  I spent an hour yesterday trimming back the smaller of the two Arbutus 'Marina', only making a small dent in its growth.

View of the bed containing 2 Arbutus 'Marina' (aka strawberry trees).  The smaller tree has just about swallowed up the Melianthus major and has encroached on the surrounding plants, including a Leucadendron 'Jester', a Grevillea 'Ned Kelly' (currently invisible) and a Leucospermum "Royal Hawaiian Brandi'.  I discovered that I had gladiolas and lilies (also almost invisible) growing in there too.

This is a comparison of the smaller Arbutus after its pruning in mid-December and now (after I gave it a light pruning yesterday)

I didn't even try to do anything with the larger Arbutus.  This photo shows it immediately after it was pruned in December and now, 6 months later.

 

 

Work on my cutting garden is ongoing but I expect to have an update on that later this week.  We've had a few sunny days in a row now so there's no time to waste.

The fact that Pipig has voluntarily left her heating pad behind and retreated to her catio is proof that we've had warmer temperatures at last

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Gardening is solace for the soul

Just when I thought the news couldn't get any uglier, this week it did.  I won't rehash the rant included in my last post but suffice it to say that I spent a lot of time in my garden this week.  It's not a cure for anger, frustration and grief but it helps.  I didn't tackle any big projects but I took care of little ones that had been pestering me, most of which involved end-of-spring cleanup.  Memorial Day, honoring the men and women who died in military service, is observed in the US on the last Monday of May.  That day has also become the unofficial start of summer here.

I didn't take any "before" photos but here are some "after" shots showing the results of my tidying up in the back garden.

The 3 Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' that surround the largest of my peppermint willows were swamping everything around them.  I cut them back around the front and pulled up masses of the plants' dry leaves, which some people warn could feed fires.  The plants and ceramic fish surrounding it have been revealed.  Now I just need to tackle the back side of the shrubs plus the clumps in my front garden.

I cut back the Echium webii and cleared most of the leaf litter under it as well.  I'm always a little worried that the plant won't recover as the grower recommends "tip pruning."  As a fallback, I took tip cuttings in the hope of propagating possible replacement plants if needed.  That approach worked with my Echium handiense.  I still need to tackle the Echium webbii on my back slope and the E. candicans 'Star of Madeira' in the front garden.

This Arbutus 'Marina' (one of 4) had dropped piles of leaf litter over the succulents beneath it and I finally performed the difficult dance cleaning that up (for now).  I also trimmed back the dead lower branches of the Melianthus major.

Since I cut the largest Yucca 'Bright Star' down to the ground last year, there's been a lot of empty space in this area.  Self-seeded Gaillardia have sprung up here and there but I added some orange and yellow Gazanias to provide additional ground cover until the baby Yucca grows up.  I could use another dozen Gazania plugs I think...

I thinned the Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feather grass) along the back of the border and, as his birthday present to me, my husband has begun building cages to surround the plants the blankety-blank bunnies keep eating.  The rabbits have already consumed the lower leaves of numerous lilies and left 2 lily plants entirely bare.

In addition to corralling leaves on the north end of the back garden, I performed a similar cleanup on the lower level of the front garden and nearby in the street side succulent bed.

This slope is steeper than it may look and leaves from the massive Arbutus "Marina' above get stuck in every nook and cranny between the succulents

The 2 tree-sized Auranticarpa rhombifolium also drop gobs of leaves in this very dry area near the property line.  More dropped between my initial sweep of the area and taking this photo.  There's a big empty space I need to fill too.  Thus far, even the Agave pups I've tried here have struggled to survive.  I think I'm going to try an olla watering approach to support the next plant I place in this spot.

I finally got around to pulling the self-seeded bunny tail grass in my south side succulent bed too.

I didn't sow any bunny tail grass (Lagurus ovatus) seed this year but last year's nearby plants chose to self-seed all through this succulent bed.  I saved a handful of the seedheads I pulled as they're perfect for dry flower arrangements.

I've still got cleanup to do in my north side garden, where the leaves of the guava tree litter the succulents below but this weekend I'll be giving priority to cleaning up the cutting garden to get rid of the cool season plants that are well past their prime.

I managed to create 3 small posies with the flowers left on the sweet pea vines yesterday, which I brought to friends I met for lunch.  On the restaurant's patio, the flowers attracted considerable attention, which I thought was a nice final salute to the sweet pea season.

In addition to spending time with good friends on Thursday afternoon, I've taken time to appreciate the fleeting blooms that aren't likely to be around on Bloom Day in June.  Here's what caught my eye:

Planted last fall, Iris germanica 'Gypsy Lord' enjoyed a brief moment of glory

I planted 10 bulbs of Sprekelia formosissima (aka Aztec lily) earlier this year.  Just one made an appearance.  I seem to remember seeing these flowers in posts from Texas bloggers later in the year so perhaps I'll see more of them this fall. 

My daylilies have been slow to bloom this year, which I'm blaming on low rainfall but clockwise from the upper left are the handful that have made a showing: Hemerocallis 'Elizabeth Salter', 'Russian Rhapsody', 'Spacecoast Behavior Pattern' (which should get the award for most ridiculous name ever), and 'Spanish Harlem'.  The last is my most prolific daylily but, at the speed it's blooming, it may finish up soon.

Gladiolus nanus 'Nymph' seemed to disappear for a few years before paying me a return visit

Best wishes for a safe and restful weekend.

All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

An easy fix

The garden and I reach a low point in August.  Even in good years (namely, those with decent rainfall), the garden looks badly stressed by this time of year.  I usually spend a lot of time dispensing emergency rations of water but this year, with virtually the entire State of California in severe drought, I think twice before administering any aid.  I gave the lemon tree at the bottom of our slope, which I suspect has been in place for 25 or more years, a good soak last Saturday when my husband (who usually pays no attention to plants) expressed concern that it was dying.  Two days ago, I accepted the fact that my favorite Correa, 'Sister Dawn', planted in 2018, was dead.  Large sections of creeping thyme in various areas have died out.  I could go on.  Wishing to avoid the bleak newscasts for at least awhile, I decided to see what I could accomplish in the garden to put a positive spin on its appearance.

Rather than tackle one of the areas that looks really bad, I decided to start with an area that looks relatively good.  My hope was that, with a little work, it could look even better.

This is the dry garden on the northeast side of the house.  The issues here aren't readily apparent in this wide shot.

Even in this closeup shot, the problem may be hard to see.  But there's a large, nearly invisible Agave ovatifolia lurking behind that Cistus shrub in the center.

The whale's tongue agave and the octopus agave next to it are still visible in this rear view photo, taken partway down the concrete stairway that leads to the back slope but, with the Callistemon viridiflorus in the foreground getting larger, that may not be the case for long

My first objective was to remove the Cistus 'Victor Reiter' I'd planted from a 4-inch pot in 2016.  It grew taller than I'd envisioned and didn't get enough sun to bloom well, and of course it was blocking the view of my oldest Agave ovatifolia.  I thought of relocating it but I didn't have an immediate placement in mind so I took cuttings instead.

I took twenty cuttings in all, storing them in this area behind the garage that gets only morning sun.  This is admittedly not the best time of year to take cuttings but I hope at least a few will root.

Other than periodically getting poked by the nearby agaves, the Cistus came out with relative ease.  Agave ovatifolia regained its rightful place as a focal point.

Ta-da!

And here's a closeup from the same vantage point used in my second photo

There's now an empty space in front of the agave that needs to be filled.  There are half a dozen agave pups I can't identify there but I'll probably pot them up to give away as they're too small to have any impact.  I noticed I have grass seedlings in another section of this area so I may transplant one or two of those here.

NoID agave pups.  There are several other agaves nearby, any of which might be the parent.

I'm fairly certain that this grass seedling is Melinus nerviglumis (aka ruby grass).  Unlike the Cistus, it doesn't get very big so it might be a good fit in the empty spot in front of Agave ovatifolia.

After a midday break, I tackled cleanup of the area behind the Agave ovatifolia.  In addition to pulling weeds, I trimmed back rosemary and lightly pruned both the 'Hachiya' persimmon tree (currently laden with fruit) and Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey'.

As shown in the "before" shot on the left, the tall Coprosma was interfering with the massive arms of Agave vilmoriniana.  The photo on the right was taken after I cleaned things up.

I pulled out a lot of self-seeded Dorycnium hirsutum (aka Hairy Canary Clover), potting up one viable seedling to fill an empty space where another clover died last year.

Assuming the seedling on the left survives being roughly yanked out the ground, I'll transplant it in the empty spot shown on the right once our rainy season (hopefully) starts

Dorycnium is a lovely plant in and out of bloom but it's a rampant self-seeder and a vigorous spreader.  I cut back some of the plants swamping other plants during my cleanup operation as well.

The photo on the left shows a clover covering a clump of grass and infringing on nearby agaves.  The photos on the right show the clover in two areas after it was cut back.

The ivy growing into the area from the back slope needs to be cut back as well but that's a job for another time.  At least the day's cleanup effort left me in a more positive frame of mind.  I can't solve climate change or the world's other problems but at least I can accomplish little things that improve the appearance of my garden.  Best wishes for a pleasant weekend.

All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

My neglected north side garden

I've largely ignored the garden on the north side of the house for the last couple of years, letting it get by on benign neglect.  This week, without any kind of plan in mind, I decided it was time for some tidying up.  The prostrate rosemary I planted years ago was completely out of control.  Perennial shrubs had been allowed to sprawl.  Weeds and rampant self-seeders were swamping other plants.  Fallen leaves were piled ankle deep in spots.

As usual, I failed to take any "before" photos so photos taken earlier this year will have to do.

This photo, taken at the end of October, hides a lot

This photo of my two largest agaves, taken in July, gives some sense of how crowded they were

I pulled out the Santa Barbara daisy foliage (Erigeron karvinskianus) that had formed lanky clumps more than a foot high.  I yanked several sprawling Hairy Canary Clover plants (Dorycnium hirsutum), confident that they'll  reappear from seed.  I cut back a lot of the ivy creeping up under the hedge from the back slope (although more work is needed there).  I cut back two rockrose (Cistus) shrubs that had lost all shape and lopped several large limbs of Leucadendron salignum 'Chief'.  The prostrate rosemary got a trim.  Tubs of guava tree leaves were raked up to be shredded for reuse as mulch.  In the process I uncovered two agaves I'd entirely forgotten were there.

Agave desmettiana 'Variegata' (left) was a pup I planted years ago.  Agave 'Cornelius' (aka 'Quasimoto', right) had been overrun by Hairy Canary Clover.

Two of my largest succulents, Agaves vilmoriana and ovatifolia, gained a little breathing space.

Although you can see that the Aloe vera is still in danger of being swallowed up by ivy

The "after" photos  may not reflect all the work that went into the process but I can testify that my back and shoulder muscles feel the impact.

There's more bare space but the Erigeron will certainly be back to fill in by spring if I don't find something else to plant before then

View from another angle

There's now a line of sight from the back of the north side garden looking south toward the backyard patio

Other odd jobs done this week included replanting some pots.

From left to right: I planted a half-barrel with snapdragons and primrose; a terracotta pot got a trio of Pericallis (aka florist's cineraria); and I spruced up two of the large pots by the front door with an underplanting of Bacopa (Sutera cordata) and pansies

I guess it's time to tackle Christmas decorations.  That's my weekend project.  What's yours?  Best wishes however you're spending your time.

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

An interim strategy

On Wednesday, I published a post on a few small garden projects, including one that involved the removal of several rosemary shrubs on the south end of my back garden.  I initially planned to leave the area I'd cleared bare until fall arrives but patience isn't one of my strongest traits.  In short order, I decided to go ahead with an interim strategy, which resulted in the purchase of another Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' and fourteen small Zinnias.  These went into the ground late yesterday afternoon.

The Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' in the background on the right mirrors the plants to the right of the remaining rosemary shrub (outside the frame of this photo but shown in my earlier post).  The new Zinnias mirror those behind Leucospermum 'Goldie' on the left (some of which are just visible on the far left).

The Abelia will stay as it'll eventually cover the bare legs of the rosemary and will complement the Leucopermmum 'Sunrise' in the center.  With supplemental water, the Zinnias should survive the summer, after which I'll replace them with something yet to be determined.

In the same post, I floated the possibility to getting rid of the over-stuffed strawberry pot containing a large Euphorbia tirucalli 'Sticks on Fire', which caused some commentators to express concern.  I admit that it's an attractive plant.  I considered moving it but I've already got cuttings of that same plant spread throughout my garden.  (In fact, if you look at the last photo above, you can see two of these in the succulent area in the distance on the left.)  So, I elected an interim strategy to deal with the strawberry pot as well.

I cut the Euphorbia back (again).  The before photo is on the left and the after photo is on the right.  In addition to diminishing its height and girth, this gives Dahlia 'Rip City' in the raised planter next to it more sun.

These are the cuttings I'll put out on the curb for "adoption" once they stop seeping sap.  I cut them down to a manageable size for transplant in other gardens or pots.  I plan to include a warning about exposure to the sap, which can cause skin irritation and eye damage if not properly handled.

I haven't dealt with the mass of Centaurea 'Silver Feather' yet but, while we're addressing the cutting garden, here are photos of the first two dahlia blooms to open there.  I planted most of my dahlia tubers a good six weeks later this year than last year but they're on their way at last!

This is Dahlia 'Sellwood Glory', the first to open

This is 'Mr Optimist', which opened on the heels of 'Sellwood Glory'

That's it from me this week.  Thanks to everyone who weighed in on my projects!  Your input helped me sort through my options.

Best wishes for a safe and enjoyable weekend.

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Small garden projects

Even as heat blasted parts of the US this season, we've enjoyed a relatively mild summer.  Sure, we've had some temperatures in the mid-90s but they haven't been sustained and we haven't yet had a heatwave that's pushed temperatures above 100F.  That's not true of all of Southern California - the inland valleys have had some truly miserable highs and the Palm Springs area is roasting.  We've been lucky by comparison and I've used the opportunity to tackle some small garden projects.

For some time, Coleonema 'Sunset Gold' has been trying to engulf the Yucca 'Bright Star' in the back border.  I couldn't quite bring myself to pull out one Coleonema entirely but I trimmed it back.

This is the "before" shot.  Although it looks like one uniform mass, there are two Coleonema shrubs planted here and they were encroaching on both the Yucca on the right and the Leucadendrons behind them.

This is the "after" shot.  I shaved off bits of both Coleonema but cut more deeply into the one rubbing up against the Yucca, with the latter plant drawing blood a couple of times in the process.

On the other side of the flagstone path, I faced a decision I'd been contemplating for some time: removal of some or all of the variegated rosemary shrubs (Rosmarinus 'Gold Dust') I'd installed in March 2014.  They'd gotten much bigger than I'd been led to understand they would when I bought them in 6-inch pots.  They'd also gotten leggy because I hadn't pruned them regularly and they were shading out the Lotus berthelotii planted below them.

This is a before shot of the messy rosemary shrubs.  Earlier this year, I transplanted a Leucospermum 'Sunrise' I'd had in a pot behind the rosemary after removing a mass of Bulbine.  While the Leucospermum will grow larger than it currently is, what had turned into a messy rosemary hedge wasn't going to complement it well.

I removed all but one of the rosemary shrubs.  I left one in place in an effort to balance the Grevillea alpina x rosmarinfolia planted behind Leucospermum 'Goldie'.   Both the Grevillea and the remaining rosemary still require some trimming.

Here's a second "before" shot, taken in late June

Here's another "after" shot taken from the same angle as the prior one

I'd initially thought I'd just cover the area with mulch and wait until September or October to replant.  Do you think I'm capable of sticking to that plan?  I'm already debating what to plant.  I looked at the plants on either side of bare area for ideas.

I could emulate what I'd done on the left side by adding more Zinnias as temporary fillers...

Trying for more consistency, I could add another Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' like these on the right to mask the bare legs of the remaining rosemary...

I've also taken care of a few other things, some I photographed and others I didn't.

I pruned this Echium handiense a couple of months ago but was afraid to cut it back harder.  When it started producing new foliage on the thick woody branches I'd cut, I went all in and cut the rest of it back.  I also took some cuttings, although no source I consulted suggested that this plant can be successfully propagated that way.

Cleaning up the Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima) is something that needs doing every couple of months here.  Before I "combed" these plants of their seed-laden plumes, they were covering this dirt path behind the back border.

Two other small projects are still staring me in the face but I haven't committed myself to tackling them yet.  Of course, I often make those decisions on the fly.

The Centaurea 'Silver Feather' here are still blocking this flagstone path.  I was clearly delusional when I installed seven plants in January 2019.  The plants aren't blooming any longer so they can come out, although I've no idea what to use to replace them.

This Euphorbia tirucalli 'Sticks on Fire' has been in this strawberry pot since we moved in almost 10 years ago.  I've cut it back several times and I swear it just gets larger.  I think it probably has to go.

The week's not over yet.  Anything could happen.

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party